


The London Bridge Came Falling Down

by JinxyTwinxyDoo



Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Other, Panic Attack, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Trapped, collapsed building, no.4, whumptober2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26828566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JinxyTwinxyDoo/pseuds/JinxyTwinxyDoo
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Peter Parker
Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952896
Kudos: 74
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	The London Bridge Came Falling Down

“...-ter…Peter!...Peter!”

Too loud. Everything was too loud and too painful. A groan slipped out of his lips as he scrunched his face up, eyebrows furrowing as he slowly tensed up. He heard shuffling around him and hesitantly opened his eyes, grimacing. It was dark. Really, really dark. Aside from a glow of blue that he couldn’t quite register the source of. All he knew was that it was dark, he hurt all over, and it was quiet. Well, aside from a low groaning and the sound of clattering every now and then.

“You with me kid?” 

Peter jolted when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, his gaze snapping up to stare directly at where the source of blue was coming from. An audible, shaky sigh of relief left him as he found himself staring at Tony’s face that wore a worried expression. “Yeah… I’m with you, mister Stark… wherever here is.” He blinked slowly, craning his neck over his shoulder to look around. He could catch faint, jagged outlines of something, but he couldn’t put his finger on what they were.

The air around him smelt… rusty? It was almost hard to breathe. Everytime he inhaled, his chest rattled as if it were filled with gravel. His nose stung with the constant urge to sneeze, and he found himself grimacing and blinking tears out of the corners of his eyes when it didn’t happen. The first assumption that came to mind was that they were in a cave. But it wouldn’t make sense as to why he would wake up in a cave? The last thing Peter remembered was fighting some rock throwing guy near a building… and then nothing.

Nothing other than a deafening tidal wave of noise and panic, anyways.

Blinking himself out of his thoughts, Peter looked back at Tony who was rather aggressively smacking his helmet - that he was still wearing - with a disgruntled expression. “Uh… mister Stark? What’re you doing?” Peter tilted his head, clearing his throat and blinking his eyes a few more times. He had a sneaking suspicion that something must’ve gone wrong and that they weren’t where they were supposed to be, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Yeah, kid. I’m fine… just tryin’ to get a signal through this stupid rubble.” His voice sharpened when he said the word “rubble.” He spat it out in a way that made it seem like the word was poison, whacking something nearby that was hard and solid. But that wasn’t what Peter was focused on. Not the way Tony said the word. The word Tony said. Shaking ever so slightly, Peter cleared his throat. “I-I’m sorry… rubble?” He echoed.

“Yes, rubble. You and I are stuck under 110 stories of a building… not to worry, though. As soon as I get my coms reconnected, capsicle and his merry gang will have us out in no time.”

110 stories. They were stuck under a collapsed building that was 110 stories high. A pit formed in his stomach and Peter shrunk back, pressing himself to the concrete beneath him. That explained the throbbing in his body. That explained the air condition. That explained how dark it was. That explained the undeniable panic that was surging over him again, crashing down like a tidal wave. He was trapped under a building again. Trapped with no immediate way out. He couldn’t see the light of the world like last time. He couldn’t hear anything above the rubble.

stuckstuckstuckstuckstuck.

His mouth felt dry. Nausea swamped him and his mind grew fuzzy. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t do this. “No, no, no… gotta get outta here.” He whispered frantically, to which Tony snorted. “Yeah. Not exactly how I plan to spend my Saturday.” He joked, apparently not catching onto the panic Peter was in. That or he was trying to calm the boy down; and if that was the case, it wasn’t working.

“Okay ready?”

Every shift sent a jolt of icy terror through him. Every single clatter of a pebble or smaller piece of concrete made him recoil and press himself further down against whatever was beneath him. His hands flew towards his mask, scrabbling at it desperately for a moment before tearing it off. No one would see his face, anyways. He didn’t have to worry about his identity. 

“Hello?!...Hello!”

He curled in on himself, biting his bottom lip so harshly that he tasted blood. He tried desperately to avoid contact with any other pieces of rubble aside from whatever was beneath him, but found himself unable to. It was inevitable. No matter how he positioned himself, a piece of concrete jabbed at his leg or side painfully. 

“Please...hey! Hey please! I’m down here! I’m down here- I’m stuck! I’m stuck- I can’t move- I ca-”

He couldn’t breathe. No matter how big of a breath of air he tried to inhale, his lungs felt deflated. Trembling, he pulled his arms close to himself as he tried to calm himself down. Painful wheezes gurgled in his throat as he squeezed his eyes shut, his mouth gaping now in an attempt to draw more air. He couldn’t freak out. Not here. Not now. He had to keep it together. He had to-

“Peter?”

He couldn’t do this.

“Can’t breathe…” He whispered, voice strained as he curled in on himself further. He was absolutely terrified. Every single muscle in his body screamed at him to get out of there. To stand up, push the rubble off, and get as far away as possible from this mess. But he couldn’t force his body to move no matter how hard he tried.

“Hey, hey, hey… calm down, buddy. Take deep breaths with me, okay?”

He blinked, his vision blurring and making the world even harder to see and focus on. He inhaled through a choked gasp mixed with a sob, unable to hide the choked cries that followed. He couldn’t help it nor stop himself. His chest felt as if it were being crushed slowly, refusing to let any air in. His throat burned as his shoulders bounced up and down. 

“C-can’t-”

“Yes you can, Peter. I’m right here, kid. I’ve got ya.”

He groaned, his body spasming as he gagged and choked. A whine rose in his chest as he closed his eyes, tears sliding down the side of his face. He wanted his aunt. He wanted his friends. He wished he’d never come here. He wished he’d never done this. He wished-

“I gotcha… I gotcha.”

He froze up, his brain short-circuiting at the sudden contact. His breath hitched as Tony suddenly grabbed him, pulling him close. He held his breath as Tony began to card his fingers through his hair, trembles still wracking his body. Then, it was as if he unfroze. Peter sunk into Tony, choking on his sobs as he bowed his head down low.

“Just calm down… we’ll be outta here real soon.”

Soon. They’d be out soon.

Peter inhaled shakily, closing his eyes and focusing on the words. Trying to use them to ground himself in a way. Maybe even calm himself down. So, he let himself bask in the silence that wrapped itself around the two. He let himself steady his breathing to the best of his ability, steadily gaining control of the sobs and panicked inhales and exhales. “...care to explain what that was about?” Tony murmured, almost hesitantly, after a moment.

“We’re trapped under a building. Don’t I have a right to panic?” Peter whispered shakily, earning a laugh from Tony. “Yeah. I suppose you do… but that was more than just panicking, kid.” He responded, glancing down at the boy who still kept his head bowed. Tony hadn’t let go of Peter just yet, but he kept his hold on him loose in case Peter wanted personal space. “You don’t have to explain, but it’d help a lot if-”

“I’ve been trapped under a collapsed warehouse before.”

“...I beg your pardon?” Tony gently pushed Peter away and let his hands slide up the young vigilante’s shoulders, keeping him upright. Peter let out a nervous, unsteady laugh as he looked up hesitantly. “I- uh… thought I’d get it off my chest right away. Just rip it off like a band aid, y’know.” He explained, his voice shaking ever so slightly. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I don’t care how fast you said it, bud- you were trapped under a building?” Tony whispered, tilting his head.

“Yeah uh… homecoming. I went after the Vulture and he - uh, Toomes - sort of… took out a bunch of support beams for the warehouse… and it collapsed on me… But I got out!”

“...and you didn’t care to tell me?” Tony narrowed his eyes, his voice far from accusing. Almost concerned. “I didn’t want you to blame yourself or worry because I was fine! Honestly!” Peter cried out, waving his hands in front of himself as he carefully inched out of Tony’s hold. “I promise! I’m fine!” 

“You are not fine. Did you not see what just happened?”

“Panicking in situations like this is normal.”

“Not panic attacks.”

Peter fell silent, looking away. Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. He heard Peter clear his throat before he opened his eyes again. “Okay… okay. I’m not mad at you, kid. I don't blame myself.” A lie. “But you need to tell people about things like this. It’s not healthy. Bottling up that much emotions like that doesn’t get you far in the long run. It just drags you down.”

“I’ve been fine though!”

“You’re fine until you’re put into a similar situation.” Tony argued. “This isn’t how normal people function, Peter… not that you aren’t normal. It’s just not healthy for you.” He tried to explain, voice softening. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself or anyone else.” He continued, pursing his lips. “...y’know what I mean?” He murmured softly, tilting his head a little more. Peter opened his mouth to speak when the rubble overhead gave a jerk. 

Immediately, Tony had his arms wrapped around Peter again. He practically brought the boy into a hug and leaned over Peter, narrowing his eyes as his mask crawled over his face again. If the rubble fell on them, there wasn’t a good chance that his suit would hold up. It’s integrity was already low enough from the initial collapse. And if he wanted to add in the-

“Howdy Stark. Need some help?”

Exhaling a shaky sigh of relief, Tony shook his head as streaks of light pierced through the darkness. “Took you long enough, Clint.” He muttered, slowly looking up and watching as the rubble around them lit up. He glanced around, watching as Steve appeared around the edge of the piece on top of them. There was a pause before he began to wave his hands. A moment later, the rubble was sliding off to the side.

“...Mister Stark? Can you get off me?”

“Oh shit! Right, right. Sorry, kid!” Tony exclaimed, reeling backwards. He brushed some dust and dirt off his suit, clearing his throat as Peter sat upright and looked around. After registering the fact that they would be out from beneath the rubble, Peter let out a shaky sigh. “Oh thank god… I don’t know how much longer I could handle your voice, mister Stark.”

“Hey!”


End file.
